After playing trombone for only three years, Big Sam was picked up by New Orleans institution the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, a job he took when he was 19 years old. Sam learned the brass band tradition as quickly as he learned the horn itself, and set out to put his own twist on the music.

Sam has not only taken over the New Orleans scene: the Funky Nation is a festival favorite across North America and in Europe. Sam anchored the horn section for Allen Toussaint and Elvis Costello for their “River In Reverse” record and tour. Sam has also appeared with Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dave Matthews, Ozomatli, and Widespread Panic.

What Other People Have Been Saying...

“the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz… Williams turns the trombone into a brass machine gun, sputtering rapid-fire bursts against the big, fat grooves the band supplies.” -San Francisco Chronicle

“He’s got the chops of Louis, the charisma of Dizzy, the oomph of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and the understanding that it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing… and a whole lotta funk.” -Rachel Levitin, welovedc.com